The full-time NASCAR driver did what he wanted to do in his latest foray into the IRL, punching in 10 laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just half a day after finishing an impressive fourth in Saturday night's Winston Cup race in Richmond, Va. And since he'll be here all week, he couldn't care less about his initial speeds.

Sleep? A totally different story.

"I got about 3 1/2 hours," said Gordon, who May 25 will attempt his second consecutive double in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. "I live on five, so it's good."

Excluding Scott Sharp's best time of 39.3419 seconds (228.764 mph), there were few eye-opening speeds on the 2.5-mile oval. While drivers were helped by an overcast day in the 50s that aided downforce, they mostly looked to "shake down" their rides to prepare for Saturday's pole qualifying.

For Gordon, it was more a matter of getting comfortable in his Dallara/Honda. After having his seat fitted Wednesday, he spent part of Sunday adjusting his HANS device, mirrors and belts before hitting 220.636 mph on the track.

"(The car) was stiff with a lot of downforce, and we just want to get it running flat out," said Gordon, who replaces injured Dario Franchitti in Andretti Green's four-car entry. "Hopefully we'll get it running (today) or Tuesday."

That is, if rain doesn't beat them. With moisture expected Monday and Tuesday, two-time defending champion Helio Castroneves was putting a little more weight in his speeds.

In that regard he has nothing to worry about, as his Dallara/Toyota posted the second-best time of 39.4585 seconds (228.088 mph, 7 mph short of his target speed).

"We don't want to make things too quick with the weather and the cold," Castroneves said. "The real deal is when we're close qualifying. ... We're running fast laps now, but toward the end of the week you're looking at 235 (mph), and we hope to be one of those guys."

Scott Dixon's happiness came just from being back in his G Force/Toyota after breaking his right wrist during last month's race in Japan. He promptly showed it in both Chip Ganassi cars, posting top-20 speeds before rain ended matters about two hours early.

Indy 500 practice speeds

INDIANAPOLIS  Top speeds Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in practice for the 87th Indianapolis 500 on May 25 (r-rookie):

Gil de Ferran turned his first hot laps since undergoing six weeks of recuperation from injuries.

"For me, Indianapolis will be like a second start to my season," de Ferran said Sunday after 18 practice laps had him in a race car for the first time since he was injured in March. "It felt fine, actually. I didn't run all that much, but I felt OK. It was the first time I've been in a car, the first time in a G Force as well. I enjoyed getting out there."

The two-time CART champion, driving with Team Penske in the IRL for the second year, suffered a concussion and fractures to his neck and lower back in a crash at Phoenix. He missed the next race, in Japan last month, when Alex Barron subbed for him and finished 17th.

De Ferran's top lap on Sunday was 224.812 mph in the G Force, his backup car.

"You've got to get your timing readjusted," de Ferran of his return after the long layoff. "I haven't gone 200 mph for awhile, so it's just getting your timing. Certainly, I'm not as fit as I was six weeks ago, prior to the accident, but I feel like I'm in good enough shape to drive and go fast."

De Ferran and Castroneves said Penske has not decided whether to use the G Force or Dallara chassis for qualifying May 10-11 and May 18 and for the race on May 25.

"Those decisions generally take care of themselves. At some point in time we'll have to make a call, but that call has not been made yet," de Ferran said.

Castroneves, trying to become the first to win at Indianapolis three years in a row, practiced for 33 laps on Sunday.

"Right now, both cars are competitive. We didn't see a major difference," he said of the two chassis. "We'll probably wait to get Gil comfortable in the car and wait toward the end of the week" to decide.

Andretti's run: Michael Andretti, who will retire after the Indy 500 to become a full-time IRL owner, had one of Honda's best efforts of the day. Andretti was fifth-best at 227.461 mph, just behind rookie teammate Dan Wheldon (227.716 mph).

Wheldon praised his boss' team for giving him a good ride. "The team has done a good job preparing me for the 500, and the crew did a great job getting the car ready," he said. "We didn't have any problems, and we were able to run fast right away."

Indy notes: Twenty-nine cars practiced Sunday, the most since 38 turned laps on opening day in 1999. ... Tora Takagi helped Toyota sweep the top three speeds with a 227.884. In all, Toyota took seven of the top 10 spots.

Le Mans practice: Bentleys led the way Sunday as racing teams had eight hours of testing at the Circuit de La Sarthe to help them prepare for next month's running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The fastest overall time of the day was set by defending American Le Mans Series champion Tom Kristensen, driving a Bentley Speed 8 Prototype to a lap of 3:34.820 around the 8.625-mile French racing circuit.

Kristensen has been on the winning team four times at Le Mans, including the past three years when he drove for the factory Audi team. The Dane will share one of the two Bentleys with Rinaldo Capello and Guy Smith.

Around the tracks: Chad Reed won his sixth consecutive 250cc THQ World Supercross race Saturday at Las Vegas, but Ricky Carmichael clinched his third 250cc AMA Supercross Series championship by finishing second. ... Danny Lasoski won the O'Reilly World of Outlaws Great Plains Shootout at Greenwood, Neb., on Saturday. ... Hurley Haywood and JC France walked away with their second win of the season in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series AJ's Fine Foods 250 at Phoenix.